PetPace News

First female, human-canine team to hike 12,500 mile All-In Trek

Smart collar company, PetPace, to help the team ‘stay connected’ during 13-14 month journey

BURLINGTON, Mass. – Breanna Cornell and her 4-year-old husky-rottweiler mix, Sophie, are scheduled to set out on completing the nation’s longest and most rigorous mega-hike expedition on Sept. 4, 2018, with help from PetPace, the provider of innovative health monitoring technology for pets.

Cornell and Sophie will attempt to be the first female and human-canine team to complete the All-In Trek. The mega-hike requires a continuous, self-supported hike through the top four hiking trails in the nation.

The duo will start their journey on the North County Trail, followed by the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Coast trail and the Continental Divide, traveling by air to each start point.

During their mega-hike, the two will face an eclectic mix of rough terrain, adverse weather conditions, the unexpected, and also battle the physical drain of hiking roughly 35 miles per day. In order to better safeguard Sophie’s health, Cornell will receive a special PetPace travel pack for Sophie.

The travel pack will provide full connectivity between Cornell’s PetPace smart phone app and Sophie’s PetPace health monitoring smart collar. This will allow Cornell to closely monitor her pet’s caloric expenditure, activity levels and vital signs, like temperature, pulse, respiration and heart rate variability, which can indicate pain. Sophie’s PetPace smart collar can also send alerts to Cornell’s smart phone if any of her vital signs change and indicate a problem.

“Sophie and I are looking forward to when the planning and prep are all done and we are finally on our adventure, especially for the people we will meet and sights we will see,” said Cornell. “PetPace will definitely help on a daily basis for determining Sophie’s energy needs. It has been a struggle to keep weight on her when we up our distances. As the saying goes on the trail, ‘hike your own hike,’ however my hike will be Sophie’s and PetPace will aid me in making sure we are ‘hiking Sophie’s hike.’”

The special pack is being specially designed by PetPace to ensure ease of operation and mobility, and is equipped with an energy saving battery for reliability on the trail. PetPace will monitor Sophie’s health remotely around the clock and will provide support whenever and wherever needed.

“Like her owner, Sophie is an extreme athlete and it is important to monitor her wellbeing closely during training and throughout the hike,” said Dr. Asaf Dagan, chief veterinarian at PetPace. “There are a multitude of adversities during an extreme hike like the All-In Trek. Breanna will need to keep close track of Sophie’s nutrition, potential injuries and fatigue, like joint stress, soreness and pain. We’re thrilled to support the two as they prepare to set out to accomplish this historic goal.”

Sophie was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2016 and with her PetPace smart collar, Cornell and PetPace will be able to monitor signs of impending seizures and act proactively to better protect her health.

The team will be hiking in support of impossible2Possible, a non-profit organization that provides free experiential learning programs for classrooms and students around the world.